Musical instrument



April 5,1927. 1,623,175

0. B. FRIEDEL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March-1' 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 5 '1927 O. B. FRIEDEL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 17, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES is 1,623,175 PATENT OFFICE.

orro amino 1 m onaasacnsnnnnae, GERMANY.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed larch 17, 1926, Serial No. 95,444, and in Germany April 20, 1925.

My invention relates to musical instruments and more particularly to reed instruments, for instance, to mouth organs in which a variation-of the pitch is effected by adjusting two reed plate slides.

It is an object of my invention to provide an instrument of the kind described in which the various pitches, octave, third, and fifth,

may be played with full accords and the lower-row of tones may be fully utilized with the corresponding pitches under all conditions. I

To this end, I provide in one of the reed plate slides, and preferably the upper one,

cells for four high tones more than in .the'

other slide.

In a preferred construction, one of the slides, for instance, the lower one, is vided with a row of cells for higher '0." alf tones, and a row of cells for lower half tones,

preferred construction with half-tone cells,

Figs. 7. to. 14 illustrate a type without such cells, and i I Figs. 15, 16 and .17 are diagrams showing various positions of the reed plat-e slides for the preferred construction. More particularly Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the organ, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of its reed plate slides, 3, Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the organ, I Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line V-V I in Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a section similar t OTFi 5, the.

parts adjacent the section being s ownin perspective,

. Fig. 7 is-a erspective illustration of the type without alf-tones,

Figs. 8 and 9 are longitudinal sections the organ, showing its slides in two different positions, I 1

Fig. 1.0 is a'plan view of the right-hand end of the organ, Fig. 11 is an end elevation of this end, Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are cross sections on the. lines A-B, C--D and EF in Fig. 8. Referring now to to 6, the organ comprises two reed plate slides a and b in which cells for the reeds are formed, for

instance by milling, reed plates 0 and d secured to the top of the upper slide 6 and the bottom of the lower slide a, and a casing ve e which is secured to the end and rear edges of the lower slide a. The front edge of the casing is the mouth piece of the organ and is provided with holes conforming to the cells of the two slides. To prevent jamming of the players'tongue in the holes of the mouth piece, a moisture-proof lining g is inserted at the rear of the mouth piece and provided with corresponding holes.

The upper reed plate slide bis adapted to, be displaced on lower one to which the easing 0 is secured, by means of a handle it, and slide bars f are formed along the longitudinal edges of the casing e to guide the a spring catch z is provided on the top of the slide and adapted to co-operate with three recesses O, T and F in the top plate of the casing e. In the normal position of the slide 1), that is, the octave position, the

spring 71 is in the recess 0. When it is desired to play the third or fifth pitch, the

slide 12 is displaced to the left by its handle it until the spring 2' is arrested by one of the other recesses, T or F, as the case may be.

For chromatic playing, seven half tones are provided on the right, and eight *half tonesonthe left, of the full tone row of the lower slide which are sounded by the player -as desired. The number of the half tones is not limited to seven and eight. but is a function of thenumber of the full tones.

. Referring now to Figs. 7 to 14, these show the type without half-tones.

The two reed plate slides 1 and 2 are connected by dovetailed slide'bars and are freeto be adjusted plate and the lining.

It will be understood that any number of tones may be provided and the size will vary in proportion.

In mouth organs of the usual type, only a single pitch is available and generally organs are designed for either the octave or the third itch, as these are the most opular with p ayers. By providing two a justable slides as described. and arranging the tone cells as described, I am enabled to design the same instrument for three pitches, the octave, the third, and the fifth, and to vary the pitch while playing.

The operation of both types is the same. The fundamental pitch is the octave. In the diagrams Fi s. 15, 16, and 17, the arrangement of the oles in the mouthpiece for the full tones, central row, and the halftones,

rows at each side of central row in the lower slide, are indicated and designated by b and s, respectively, for the tones produced by blowing and those produced by suction.

A diagram for the second type would be quite similar but obviously without the half tones.

In Fig. 15, the two slides a and b are in the normal or octave position in which the four additional holes of the up er slide are inoperative. For the third pitc the upper slide is moved two holes to the left, as shown in Fig. 16, and the organ is now similar to a normal organ for third pitch, and for the plate slides, means for adjusting said slides with regard to each other, one of said slides having a set of full tone cells and sets of half tone cells at either side of said row, and the other slide having four more tone cells than the full tone row of said other slide.

3. Musical instrument com rising two reed plate slides, means for a justing said slides with re ard to each other, a. casing surrounding both slides and secured to one of them, and slide bars for the other slide formed in said casing, each slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

4. Musical instrument com rising tw'o reed plate slides, means for a justing said slides with regard to each other, and checks on said slides for limiting their adjustment, each slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

5. Musical instrument comprising tworeed plate slides, means for adjusting said slides with regard to each other, and means for indicating the relative. position of said slides,

'cach slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

6. Musical instrument comprising two reed plate slides, means for adjusting said slides with regard to each other, and a ring catch for indicating the relative position of said slides, each slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

7. Musical instrument comprising two reed plate slides, means for adjusting said slides with re ard to each other, a casing surrounding both slides and secured to one of them, said casing having recesses, and a sprin catch on one of said slides which is adapte. to engage said recesses, each slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four fifth pitch, the upper slide is moved twoQ (36118 more than the other.

more holes to the left.

It will be understood that the efi'ect of the play may be much enhanced by varing the pitch as described, and that it is possible to obtain the same erformance with a single instrument as wit three separate instruments of the usual construction.

Both types may have mouth pieces on either side, and their size, as mentioned, is obviousl a function of the number of tones provide but in any case the u per reed plate has four tones more than the ower one, or vice versa.

My invention is not, limited to mouth organs but may be applied to any other reed instruments, for instance, accordions.

I claim: 3

1. Musical instrument comprising two reed plate slides means for adjusting said slides 8. Musical instrument comprising two reed plate slides, means for adjusting said slides with regard to each other, a casing surrounding both slides and secured to one of them,

said casing having a recess for each pitch to be played on said instrument, and a spring catch on one of said slides which is adapted to engage said recesses, each slide having tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

9. Musical instrument com rising two reed plate slides, means for a justing said slides with regard to each other, a sprin catch on one of said slides, and a notche plate on the other slide which is ada ted to cooperate with said catch, each slide aving tone cells, and one of said slides having four cells more than the other.

10. Musical instrument com rising two reed plate slides, means for a justing said slides with re ard to each other, each slide having tone ce ls, and one of said slides having four more tone cells than the other, a

month having a'da "ed to regis= having tone cells, and one of said slides .fterffwi said tone 061185111 1 lining of having more tone cells than the other.

uterpl oof material at the rear of said mouth In testimony whereof, I have signed my 10 .-piece. Qqff' -name to this specification at Dresden tlns 6- "11. Musical instrument comprising two 23rd day of February, 1926. reed plateslides, means for adjusting said slides with regu'd to each other, each slide OTTO BRUNO FRIEDEL. 

